


Song of Fire

by plotweaver



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, BUT EVERYONE WILL ALWAYS LIVE, Fluff, M/M, They haven't gotten to that part in the journey yet, but i mean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2015-07-06
Packaged: 2018-04-08 01:54:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4286172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plotweaver/pseuds/plotweaver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The company enjoys music after a long day of journeying. Someone finally convinces Thorin to play the harp. Someone else finally convinces Bilbo to sing. Both hobbit and dwarf king are enchanted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Song of Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Kind of a remix of my Song of Gold fic. The Walking Song exists in the books, btw. I took a few verses from the wiki.

It was no secret that the dwarrows were musical folk. Most nights when they rested, Bofur would play out the dying embers of the fire on his flute before the company drifted off to sleep, one by one. On more lively nights, the young princes would sing loudly and dance in such a ridiculous fashion, competing for the loudest, most raucous laughter. Sometimes even Dwalin could be persuaded to pluck a mandolin for a song or two, his thick fingers surprisingly nimble over the strings.

So it came as no surprise to Bilbo when, after a rather hearty dinner, Bofur and Kili picked up their instruments and began to play. The day had been long, but the ever-present sight of the Lonely Mountain had encouraged them, and their spirits carried them through many songs.

In a particularly bold move, Dwalin retrieved the king's harp from its place deep in Thorin's pack. Dwalin thrust the instrument into Thorin's arms, laughing with the rest of the company.

Thorin narrowed his eyes at his friend, but Bilbo could see a small smile playing about his lips as he positioned the instrument on his knee. Thorin placed sure fingers on the strings and began to play. 

Bilbo was enchanted. The harp song was blissful. It echoed softly in the clearing that they had made their camp. Bilbo could not help but smile, knowing that this elegant song resided in Thorin, that his fingers were capable of making such beautiful music. Thorin kept his eyes on the strings, as focused as he was in combat.

The song came to an end and, instead of applause, each dwarf bowed their head to their king. Thorin's eyes found Bilbo's and Bilbo, not wanting to be rude but not wanting to take his eyes off of Thorin either, dipped his head.

"Bilbo!" Kili shouted at him from across the fire, breaking his concentration from Thorin. "Sing us that song!"

"Yes!" Fili said, nodding at his brother. 

Bilbo took his pipe out of his mouth and tilted his head in confusion.

"The Walking Song!" Fili said. "The one you sing on the road all the time."

Bilbo coughed and felt heat rise up the back of his neck. He had no idea the other members of the company could hear him singing under his breath. It was a silly tune to be sure, one borne out of the necessity to make his horse's tread seem less weary, and for that he wanted to hide in embarrassment.

"Come on," Kili said, nudging the other dwarrows to begin goading Bilbo. "Sing! Sing! Sing!"

Bilbo rolled his eyes and stood. He set his pipe down on his bedroll and held up his hands in submission. "All right," he said. 

His eyes flickered to Thorin, and what he saw made him pause. Thorin sat with his hands hovering over the strings of the harp. It surely was a trick of the firelight, but Bilbo thought for a moment that he saw Thorin's fingers twitch, as if he were unsure of what to do. Thorin's face seemed unsure as well. The face of a man staring down a hurricane and not knowing whether or not to run or to brace himself. Bilbo pressed his lips together. He wasn't that bad of a singer. Even Belladonna had conceded that he carried a tune "quite nicely" at her birthday last year. And that was when he was two tankards deep in ale. 

Bilbo cleared his throat once, twice, determined to show Thorin that his skills did range beyond burglary. His palms started to sweat, so he pressed them into his pockets. Thorin's eyes flashed in the firelight. Thorin had leveled him with his gaze often, but Bilbo could not bear it while singing. So he closed his eyes, breathed in deep, and started the first verse.

_Upon the hearth the fire is red,_  
_Beneath the roof there is a bed;_  
_But not yet weary are our feet,_  
_Still round the corner we may meet_  
_A sudden tree or standing stone_  
_That none have seen but we alone._

The flute piped up, the fiddle joined in, and many heavy boots stomped upon the ground. Bilbo picked up the tempo and the company followed.

_Tree and flower and leaf and grass,_  
_Let them pass! Let them pass!_  
_Hill and water under sky,_  
_Pass them by! Pass them by!_

Bilbo opened his eyes. He burst into a wide smile when he saw that the majority of the company moving to his song. Even Balin had begun clapping the ever-increasing rhythm. Bilbo bobbed his head up and down, and Kili laughed in delight. The younger princeling abandoned his fiddle to run to Bilbo and swing him around. They both laughed, stumbling wildly after a few spins.

"Keep up, uncle!" Kili shouted. "You're messing up the rhythm."

Bilbo only had a moment to glance at Thorin before the next verse started. The dwarf's brow was furrowed, but his eyes remained on Bilbo and his fingers still hovered over the harp. It was a curious sight. Bilbo had not ever seen Thorin in such a curious state.

Kili swung Bilbo around again and the next verse picked up speed.

_Apple, thorn, and nut and sloe,_  
_Let them go! Let them go!_  
_Sand and stone and pool and dell,_  
_Fare you well! Fare you well!_

Bilbo lost his footing and collapsed on the ground amid dwarven cheers. Kili fell soon after. Bilbo looked up.

Every member of the company seemed to be holding their sides, doubling over in laughter. Bilbo searched for a different face, his face, and found it no longer among the company.

#

Thorin flexed his empty hands. He had left the harp at his spot around the fire. He wished he picked up his axe in its stead. He needed to cut something down. He needed the hard hit of a tree felled to shake him back to reality. 

Bilbo...

He had looked... beyond words. 

His hobbit never mentioned that he could sing. He looked so determined and solemn and he would not look away from Thorin as he prepared himself. Then he had closed his eyes, licked his lips, and Thorin had never seen Bilbo looked so peaceful. All of his worry was smoothed from his face. And then his hobbit opened his mouth.

Thorin had never heard anything like it. The song was jaunty, but Bilbo's voice caressed each note with absolute care. Thorin wanted to hear that voice sing the songs of his people, something more of its caliber than a simple walking song. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to seize his birthright, commission a song in his own honor, and have Bilbo sing it. 

When Bilbo opened his eyes and smiled, though, Thorin's desires changed. He wanted to make sure that smile never faded. He wanted to be that smile's cause. A vision of bright jewels and expertly forged crowns danced in front of him, and he would give it all to his hobbit if it meant that smile continued. 

But he was leading his hobbit into fire and danger. The journey forward would have few smiles indeed. Even fewer songs.

Thorin needed to hear Bilbo singing again. Needed to see that smile and know it was for him.

He straightened and took the first steps back to the company. 

He would ride close to Bilbo tomorrow, if only to catch a few more lines of his song.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! Please comment! It takes two seconds and keeps me happier for much longer!


End file.
